Podcast · Tech & Science

Plant Kingdom

by Catherine Polcz · English · Tech & Science

Plant Kingdom is a conversation series about plants, nature and environment featuring scientists, artists, researchers, writers and healers. We release two conversations each month, and hear from people who have an intimacy with plants and nature. We discuss their work, stories and reflections from

New episodes: Monthly
Typical length: 52 min
Latest: 12 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

12 Oct 2026 · 53 minNew

22 Solvejg Nitzke: The Elegance of Ferns

Scholar Solvejg Nitzke discusses her book The Elegance of Ferns Portrait of a Botanical Marvel (Greystone Books, 2026). We discuss the enchantment of ferns spanning centuries - from fern inspired folklore, to the Victorian fern craze Pteridomania, to the ways that science has sought to understand and classify them. We honour this ancient life and consider the existential nature of contemplating deep time through plants and the power of gifting our attention to earth's peculiar life forms. Bio: Solvejg Nitzke is a literary and cultural studies scholar at The University of Vienna. Her research…

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Earlier episodes 21 most recent

28 Aug 2026 · 53 min
21 Frank Ashwood: The Hidden Life of Soil
Dr Frank Ashwood talks to us about his new book The World Beneath Our Feet – The Hidden Life of Soil and Why It Matters to Us All. He guides us through a safari of life in the soil, touching upon species of mite that have been exclusively female for hundreds of millions of years, how an earthworm experiences its world, and how you don't need to travel to the ends of the earth to discover new species. All you need to do is look down. Bio: Dr Frank Ashwood is a soil ecologist and macrophotographer, specialising in soil invertebrates. He is a Lecturer of Ecology and Entomology at Lincoln…
15 May 2026 · 45 min
20 Emma Camp: Vital reefs
From her Future Reefs lab at the University Technology Sydney, coral reef expert Dr Emma Camp looks at how science can help restore and future proof Australia's threatened coral reefs. With a practice founded in conservation and community collaboration we spoke about the world of coral – their ecology, reef restoration and her search for naturally heat tolerant super corals. Bio: Associate Professor Emma Camp is a marine biologist and the Team Leader of the Future Reefs Team at the University of Technology Sydney. Her teams research ranges from organism scale molecular signatures to broad…
6 Mar 2026 · 52 min
19 Leonora Bittleston: The world on a leaf
Biologist Dr Leonora Bittleston takes us into the mysterious world of the phyllosphere – the micro world upon leaf and plant surfaces. We discuss her research on plant-microbe interactions, looking at case studies of the sage brush steppe ecosystem and the fascinating miniature worlds of carnivorous pitcher plants. She shares how even the smallest organisms on our planet can be a force of nature. Bio: Leonora Bittleston is an Associate Professor at Boise State University. She is fascinated by the complex interactions that form between very different kinds of organisms, and among microbes and…
3 Feb 2026 · 52 min
18 Barbara Allen: Lost Animals, Disappearing Worlds
Author Barbara Allen discusses her work Lost Animals, Disappearing Worlds (Reaktion Books, 2025). Through her style of writing animal biography, Allen creates space to honour and memorialise extinct animals. We discuss the tragic tales of the passenger pigeon, St Helena's earwig, dusky seaside sparrow and thylacine. She recreates their presence and world through story. Bio: Barbara Allen was a nurse, then a school teacher, before studying to become an ordained minister in the Uniting Church in Australia. She has always been passionate about animals. Her previous books include Lost Animals,…
14 Jan 2026 · 48 min
17 Emily Bamforth: Canada's polar dinosaurs
Palaeontologist and curator of the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum Dr Emily Bamforth uses fossils to recreate ancient worlds, painting a vivid picture of Alberta's polar dinosaurs of 65 million years ago. She shares her philosophy of deep time, her interest in evolutionary 'failed experiments', and how the study of ancient life has shaped her unique perspective. Bio: Dr Emily Bamforth is the Curator of the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum in Alberta, Canada. She completed a BSc with Specialisation in Evolutionary Biology at the University of Alberta, which sparked a fascination in the…
3 Dec 2025 · 40 min
16: Josh Wodak: Think like a volcano
Researcher, artist and author Dr Josh Wodak shares insights from his new book Petrified: Living during a rupture of life on Earth. In our conversation, we spoke about deep time, extinction and life on our volatile planet. Spanning 65 million years we cover the climate crisis, asteroid impacts, volcanoes and how pop culture can help us cope and make sense of it all. Bio: Dr Joshua Wodak is an artist, writer, and Senior Lecturer at the School of Arts, Western Sydney University. His lyrical, playful, and deadly serious work explores ideas about the unfolding rupture of life on Earth (climate…
7 Nov 2025 · 56 min
15 Barrett Klein: Insect Epiphany
Entomologist and author Dr Barrett Klein discusses cultural entomology – the study of how insects have shaped and influenced human culture and society. Taking us through the archaeological record, Klein discusses curious objects including a 3700 year old lice comb; ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics depicting apiculture; and a small paleolithic carving of a cave cricket. He also shares his research into honeybee society, insect sleep and what future insect industries may look like. Bio: Dr Barrett Klein is the author of The Insect Epiphany: How our six legged allies shape human culture…
22 Oct 2024 · 42 min
14 Luke Steller: Primordial soup
Astrobiologist and science communicator Dr Luke Steller journeys deep into the primordial soup to discuss the enigma of Earth's first life. In our conversation, we discuss what early life could have looked like 3 billion years ago, how scientists read the fossil and rock record, and what life might look like elsewhere in our universe. Bio: Dr. Luke Steller is a researcher in the field of astrobiology, the study of how life began on Earth and where it might exist elsewhere in the universe. His research consists of exploring the ancient hot springs of the Pilbara region in Western Australia,…
30 Sep 2024 · 46 min
13 Eddie Game: Ecoacoustics
Dr Eddie Game is the Lead Scientist & Director of Conservation for The Nature Conservancy's Asia Pacific region. In our conversation, he discusses conservation as a collaboration with community, and his pioneering works into acoustic ecology – the study of the biology of natural soundscapes. He shares his field work in Papua New Guinea and Borneo, what a healthy jungle sounds like, and what it's like waking up to the calls of gibbons. Bio: Eddie Game is the Lead Scientist & Director of Conservation for The Nature Conservancy's Asia Pacific region, responsible for ensuring that the…
2 Sep 2024 · 48 min
12 Jenny Mortimer: Plants in space
Associate Professor Dr Jenny Mortimer discusses plants as a technology, and how she applies genetic engineering as a tool to solve wicked problems of sustainability in agricultural and pharmaceutical production. Her lab uses synthetic biology to develop new crops in controlled growth environments – including plants for space settlement as part of the newly formed ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space. BIO: Jenny Mortimer is Associate Professor of Plant Synthetic Biology in the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine at the University of Adelaide. She is also an Affiliate Staff Scientist…
12 Aug 2024 · 40 min
11 Sharon Robinson: Antarctic moss
Climate change biologist Dr Sharon Robinson takes us thousands of kilometres across the Southern Ocean to Casey Station, Antarctica. She is an expert on Antarctica's ancient moss beds, which she describes as 'miniature old growth forests'. In our conversation, we spoke about the adaptations that enable moss to thrive in some of the harshest environments on earth, and the impact of historic ozone depletion and climate change on these fragile ecosystems. Bio: Dr Sharon Robinson is a Climate Change Biologist at the University of Wollongong, Australia. An expert on Antarctic moss, she first…
1 Jul 2024 · 1 hr 9 min
10 Jon Pitt: Becoming botanical
Translator, author and academic Dr Jon Pitt discusses his work in critical plant studies and the representation of plants throughout Japanese literature and media. He shares the joys of his recent translation of the work Tree Spirits Grass Spirits by acclaimed Japanese poet Hiromi Ito, and delves into what we can gain from becoming botanical – or thinking like a plant. Bio: Jon L Pitt is Assistant Professor of Japanese Environmental Humanities at the University of California, Irvine. He situates his work at the intersection of Japanese literary and media studies and critical plant studies.…
17 Jun 2024 · 54 min
09 Åsa Krüger: Gothenburg Botaniska
Botanist and curator Åsa Krüger discusses her practice in connecting audiences with plants and shares behind the scenes stories from the Gothenburg Botanical Garden, Sweden. Investigating the role of botanical gardens in the modern world, she shares how the living collection is engaged in active research and conservation, and the importance of putting names to the living world around us. Bio: Dr Åsa Krüger is a curator at the Gothenburg Botanical Garden, Sweden. During her PhD, Åsa studied the phylogeny, biogeography and evolutionary history of plants in the coffee family (Rubiaceae),…
3 Jun 2024 · 54 min
08 Karlie Noon: The sky is full of knowledge
Gamilaroi astrophysicist Karlie Noon dismantles sketchy ambitions to colonize the moon, asteroids and space. Grounded in indigenous sky sovereignty, she presents another way of knowing and caring for the solar system, Milky Way and universe. She shares her knowledge of moon formation, the growing discipline of space environmentalism, her research into the dynamics of the The Milky Way and all we can learn from Sky Country. Bio: Karlie Noon is a Gamilaroi astrophysicist and author with over a decade's worth of experience in science communication and advocating for Indigenous astronomical…
20 May 2024 · 57 min
07 Grace Fleming: The enigma of seeds
Plant biologist Dr Grace Fleming dissects the secret life of seeds. In a conversation covering everything from seed vaults to space seed trials, she examines the mechanisms of seed dormancy and how seeds sense and interact with their environment. Bio: Dr Grace Fleming is an Assistant Professor in Plant Biology at Michigan State University in East Lansing. Her work examines the physiological underpinning of seed dormancy and responses to varying environmental conditions, with a high priority placed on identifying and validating genetic and physiological factors contributing to seed longevity…
6 May 2024 · 45 min
06 Francine McCarthy: A lake in the Anthropocene
Micropaleontologist Dr Francine McCarthy goes deep into the sediments of Crawford Lake, a small and unassuming lake in the Niagara Escarpment town of Milton, Ontario. In 2023, Dr McCarthy led a team that identified Crawford Lake as the best location on earth that captured evidence of human caused planetary change. Endorsed by the Anthropocene Working Group, It was proposed as the best 'golden spike' site of the Anthropocene. Dr McCarthy shares how she first encountered the lake, her research on microscopic organisms of the Great Lakes Region, and personal reflections on the Anthropocene.…
22 Apr 2024 · 43 min
Nicole Yamase: The ocean is a mirror
Micronesian marine botanist and ocean advocate Dr Nicole Yamase meditates on the Pacific with a conversation spanning Hawaiian seaweeds, snorkelling across the Federated States of Micronesia and her submersible expedition to the Mariana trench. She generously shares her cultural perspective as a Micronesian scientist and discusses what lessons she's learned from the sea. Bio: Dr. Nicole Yamase is from the islands of Pohnpei and Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Although she is from the FSM, she spent parts of her childhood in the Republic of Palau and Saipan in the…
8 Apr 2024 · 37 min
Jen Sanger: View from the big tree canopy
Forest ecologist Jen Sanger spends more time in big trees than most. In our conversation, she takes us into another world of canopy of Australia's tallest trees and into Tasmania's aptly named Grove of Giants. She shares the story of the evolution of the distinctive Tasmanian flora, the ecology of these special forests and the summer she helped get 500 community members nearly 100m up into the canopy. Bio: Dr Jennifer Sanger is the co-founder for The Tree Projects, a Tasmanian based an environmental outreach organisation which educates people about the worlds most notable trees. She is a…
21 Mar 2024 · 1 hr
Deatra Cohen and Adam Siegel: Unearthing Ashkenazi herbalism practices
Partners in life and work, herbalist Deatra Cohen and reference librarian and researcher Adam Siegel are the authors of the incredible resource Ashkenazi Herbalism. Together they spent years researching little known texts, translating ethnobotanical surveys and cross-referencing cultural databases to unearth lost Ashkenazi plant practices from the pale of settlement region. They share the stories and traditions of a few of their favourite plants along with Deatra's own journey to plant healing work. Bio: Deatra Cohen is a former reference librarian and herbalist who trained with the Berkeley…
18 Mar 2024 · 1 hr 5 min
Ripley Whiteside: Depicting wonder
Tennessee-based artist Ripley Whiteside creates art as a way to explore and connect to nature, history and speculative ecological futures. In a wide-ranging conversation spanning, contemporary ecological thought, invasive species and an ancient Medieval text—the Augsburg Book of Miracles—the conversation looks at the mysterious constructs of our understanding of nature. His place-based work is inspired by time spent Montreal, North Carolina and his home in Tennessee. Bio: Ripley Whiteside was born in 1982 and grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In 2012 he graduated with an MFA from…
18 Mar 2024 · 27 min
Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez: Urban forest explorations
Urban ecologist Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez in conversation with Catherine Polcz. He shares his journey from researching plant physiology in the Mexican Veracruz Montane Forests to future-proofing diverse urban forests of Western Sydney. His work is driven by understanding our relationship to the urban environment where people and plants are reliant on one another. Bio: Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez is a Sydney-based, Mexican ecologist who studies the effects of climate on plant function in urban ecosystems. He completed his PhD in Eastern Mexico assessing the vulnerability of the lush Veracruz…

About Plant Kingdom

Plant Kingdom is a English tech & science podcast from Catherine Polcz. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Catherine Polcz
Language: English
Category: Tech & Science
New episodes: Monthly
Typical length: 52 min
Latest episode: 12 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1736417899

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